Ethics chief slams Flaherty

By JIM BRONSKILL The Canadian PressPublished January 18, 2013 - 12:26pm Last Updated January 18, 2013 - 7:06pm

Finance minister says using title was an ‘oversight’, promises it won’t happen again

Canada’s ethics commissioner rapped Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s knuckles on Friday for a letter he wrote to the CRTC on behalf of a company in his riding vying for a radio licence. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)

OTTAWA — The federal ethics commissioner says Finance Minister Jim Flaherty broke the rules by supporting the radio licence application of a company in his riding.

Mary Dawson has ordered Flaherty to refrain from writing such letters of support without first seeking permission from her office.

Flaherty and the Prime Minister’s Office have said the veteran cabinet member was merely helping a firm in his riding — as any MP should — by sending a letter to the CRTC, the federal broadcast regulator, backing Durham Radio Inc.’s licence bid.

In her order made public Friday, Dawson said Flaherty violated the Conflict of Interest Act — the law governing ethical conduct of cabinet members — as well as federal accountability guidelines for ministers.

“It is improper for you, as Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for the Greater Toronto Area, to have written a letter of support on behalf of a constituent to an administrative tribunal in relation to its decision making,” Dawson wrote in the order.

“I therefore order you to refrain from writing any similar letters in the future without seeking approval from my Office.”

Section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act prohibits ministers from using their position to try to sway decisions when doing so would improperly advance another person’s private interests. Guidelines issued by the Prime Minister’s Office say cabinet members should not intervene in licence decisions of tribunals such as the CRTC.

In his March 2012 letter to the CRTC, Flaherty praised Durham Radio’s ultimately unsuccessful bid to obtain a licence to operate a new FM station for the Toronto area.

The broadcaster, based in Flaherty’s Whitby-Oshawa riding, hoped to launch an easy-listening outlet — one of several applicants last year for the coveted spot on the FM dial.

“Durham Radio has a strong track record for providing excellent service for their listeners and this puts them in a solid position to offer this new service,” Flaherty wrote in the letter.